09/04/2019 (Agence Europe) – On Tuesday 9 April, the EU Council formally adopted the text of the Regulation on the definition, designation, presentation and labelling of spirit drinks (see EUROPE 12213/18). Greece voted against the text, while Hungary abstained. Greece considers that the final text does not take into account the particularities of the sector and does not meet its real needs. The text specifies that ethyl alcohol and distillates used for the production of spirit drinks are exclusively of agricultural origin. There are also rules governing the names of spirit drinks placed on the EU market, in order to ensure that these names are used in a coordinated way throughout the EU. (LC)